VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
In the context of Afghanistan as an example, unjust treatment of women had not been as central of an
issue in modern society as compared to today until the later part of the 20th century. To put it in simple
words, women in Afghanistan gained the right to vote before it was established in Switzerland. During
the early 20th century King Amanullah and Queen Soraya announced the freedom of choice for women
to cover themselves up in public. In suburban areas many women continued to practise modesty through
dress whereas in city centers such as Kabul women walked the streets no different than women in North
America today 2. Yet many people erase this part of history or are unaware of it in light of the fight for
emancipation for women who suffer in silence of oppression in the Muslim countries. To label all countries largely composed of a Muslim following as the same is to disregard the political, social, cultural, and
historic differences among the whole world.
Our fault lies not in trying to help women fight oppression but to label their religion as the perpetrator
of the hateful crimes that have in reality been imposed by radical groups that use religion to gain power
but in the process completely alter the essence of the Qur’an and Islamic values. The Western world overlooks years of political and social history and regards issues against women as a religious matter 2. Radical
groups that are directly correlated to Islam use the name of Allah to perpetrate an essentially non-Islamic
way of life. There is a tendency in media to look at the select Muslim countries that are facing problems
with female oppression and assume the issues are central to the religion, not the political standing of those
few countries. As any other society or religion, there are always extremist groups/individuals that use the
name of religion to justify their actions and gain a following through fear and hate.
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